Greece has cut its health system by more than 40%, causing a health care crisis. And the decision to cut healthcare funding was not made by doctors and healthcare professionals, but by economists and financial managers. The plan was simply to get health spending down to 6% of GDP. The consequences have been dramatic. Cuts in HIV-prevention budgets have coincided with a 200% increase in the virus in Greece, driven by a sharp rise in drug use against the background of a youth unemployment rate now running at more than 50% and a spike in homelessness. Greece has gone from one extreme to the other. It used to have one of Europe's lowest suicide rates; it has now seen a more than 60% rise. The country's healthcare system itself has also completely failed to manage or cope with the threats it's facing. The authors also note that there have been heavy cuts to many hospital sectors. Places lack surgical gloves, the most basic equipment. These are just a few of many effects that Greece is facing because of economic cut backs, which is causing a population health
Greece has cut its health system by more than 40%, causing a health care crisis. And the decision to cut healthcare funding was not made by doctors and healthcare professionals, but by economists and financial managers. The plan was simply to get health spending down to 6% of GDP. The consequences have been dramatic. Cuts in HIV-prevention budgets have coincided with a 200% increase in the virus in Greece, driven by a sharp rise in drug use against the background of a youth unemployment rate now running at more than 50% and a spike in homelessness. Greece has gone from one extreme to the other. It used to have one of Europe's lowest suicide rates; it has now seen a more than 60% rise. The country's healthcare system itself has also completely failed to manage or cope with the threats it's facing. The authors also note that there have been heavy cuts to many hospital sectors. Places lack surgical gloves, the most basic equipment. These are just a few of many effects that Greece is facing because of economic cut backs, which is causing a population health